Everything you need to know about Wheelbase

The wheelbase of a skateboard deck is a factor that hasn't received too much attention for many years, although it has a major impact on the handling of your board.

In this article, we'll explain what your deck's wheelbase is and how it affects your skating.

What is the Wheelbase:

The wheelbase of your deck is the wheelbase. Similar to a car, it describes the distance between your wheels. Since the actual wheelbase is also influenced by external factors such as your trucks, skateboard manufacturers use a simplified form of measurement when specifying it. The specified wheelbase is measured from the center of the nose's inboard axle holes to the center of the tail's inboard axle holes. As a result, this information is not 100% correct and is only used for easier comparability. You can find a detailed explanation of how different trucks affect your Wheelbase, as well as exact dimensions by make and model, in our article " Wheelbase and Trucks ".

In the following 2 pictures you get an overview of the difference between the wheelbase specified by the manufacturer and the actual wheelbase of a board.

Turning behavior:

The wheelbase of your skateboard is similar to a car, where a smaller and therefore shorter car usually has a smaller turning circle than a large one. The shorter the wheelbase, the more maneuverable and easy to steer your board. A shorter wheelbase makes your deck more agile, a longer one makes it smoother and more stable.

Pop:

With an ollie or every trick that is popped, a leverage effect is created. In an ollie, the pivot point is the rear axle. The smaller the wheelbase, the closer the front axle is to the rear axle. This ensures that the energy you have to expend to get the deck in the air is less than with a larger wheelbase, which increases leverage. On the other hand, you generate less energy that catapults the deck up. Or in other words. A deck with a larger wheelbase will require more power, but the deck will also pop higher.

Length:

Indirectly, the wheelbase of the deck affects the overall length. Due to the fact that the nose and tail length of modern popsicle shapes has relatively little leeway: Noses are usually between 6.75 and 7.25 inches long, tails are between 6.5 and 6.87 inches, decks with a larger wheelbase tend to be slightly longer than decks with short wheelbase. Standard decks usually range between 13.5 and 14.5 inches wheelbase.

Height:

In addition to personal preference, your own height also plays a role in choosing the right wheelbase. The taller you are and the longer your legs are, you will tend to prefer a larger wheelbase.

Bushings:

This now goes into a bit of detail, since the effect is very small and takes place in the millimeter range at most. Due to the geometry of your axles, your wheelbase will decrease the harder you tighten the axle nuts and increase the looser you turn the axle nuts.

As with many aspects of choosing the right skateboard material, the same applies here: Don't overanalyze. The differences are so small that only very advanced skateboarders notice them, if at all.